Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
09-24-2018, 03:30 PM - 1 Like   #16
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Silverstone
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 331
Soperfect Images

Soperfect Images is a hidden gem. Tucked away in The Barbican in Plymouth, the stock is far larger than the website can keep up with. The owner, Russell, regularly purchases stock from specialist auctions and will post worldwide.

Do not browse if you have any symptoms of LBA or CBA.....

Camera shop Plymouth

09-24-2018, 03:51 PM   #17
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,503
QuoteOriginally posted by Shedking Quote
Soperfect Images is a hidden gem. Tucked away in The Barbican in Plymouth, the stock is far larger than the website can keep up with. The owner, Russell, regularly purchases stock from specialist auctions and will post worldwide.

Do not browse if you have any symptoms of LBA or CBA.....

Camera shop Plymouth
Interesting... Strange pricing differences depending on the items. Some are extremely reasonable, whilst others are well above expectations. But overall, very interesting supplier - and nice to see someone in the UK supplying this kind of gear (and accompanying warranties) in this day and age
09-24-2018, 04:13 PM - 1 Like   #18
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Silverstone
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 331
QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
Interesting... Strange pricing differences depending on the items. Some are extremely reasonable, whilst others are well above expectations. But overall, very interesting supplier - and nice to see someone in the UK supplying this kind of gear (and accompanying warranties) in this day and age
I found the best prices to be on stock that was not on the website, but either on the top shelf or in the stockroom. The higher prices are often goods that have been serviced. Buy as is would be my advice.
09-25-2018, 03:02 AM   #19
Pentaxian
Wasp's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Pretoria
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,644
My hit rate at thrift stores have not been very high, but I keep looking. I saw a very nice Konica 200mm f/4 on sale for the price of a pizza the other day, but my LBA was under control that day and I left it on the shelf. Besides, I already have a perfectly good SMC Pentax M 200mm f/4.

09-25-2018, 03:07 AM   #20
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Tokyo
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,041
Come to Tokyo!
09-25-2018, 05:18 AM   #21
Pentaxian
cyberjunkie's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Chiang Mai, Bologna, Amsterdam
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,198
QuoteOriginally posted by Shedking Quote
Buy as is would be my advice.
That's what I do, in general. Even on Ebay.
I take it as a kind of gamble.
Very few times I have been disappointed, most of the times it was more than OK. Few times it was: Wow! I have been lucky!
Never returned a single item. A couple of times it would have been the case, but the shipping charge was quite close to the price I paid, so I just kept it.
Once I bought an Enna 135mm that had a distancing ring missing from the inside of the lens. It will be useful when I need its M42 mount, to turn an Enna with Exakta mount into an usable lens...
09-26-2018, 03:49 AM   #22
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,503
QuoteOriginally posted by Shedking Quote
The higher prices are often goods that have been serviced. Buy as is would be my advice.
QuoteOriginally posted by cyberjunkie Quote
That's what I do, in general. Even on Ebay.
I take it as a kind of gamble.
Where vintage prime lenses are concerned, I prefer if something hasn't been serviced. You never know how much care has been taken, and if the right cleaning materials and lubricants have been used. My happiest finds are old Soviet lenses that have never been touched since new. There aren't many of those, but you can find them. They always need a full clean and re-lubrication, but at least I can do it to a standard I know I'll be happy with...

10-08-2018, 12:40 AM   #23
Pentaxian
Wasp's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Pretoria
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,644
I had some time off last week and visited four secondhand goods shops. It was a bust, none of them even had any camera gear. At least now I know not to go back to any of them.

On the other hand, I took a different route to work this morning and saw a shop that I will have to go back to. I have this fantasy of finding a dusty K 85mm f/1.8. But a Takumar will do...
10-08-2018, 12:49 AM   #24
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hampshire, UK
Posts: 1,647
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by Wasp Quote
I had some time off last week and visited four secondhand goods shops. It was a bust, none of them even had any camera gear. At least now I know not to go back to any of them.

On the other hand, I took a different route to work this morning and saw a shop that I will have to go back to. I have this fantasy of finding a dusty K 85mm f/1.8. But a Takumar will do...
So far my hunt has shown up nothing in secondhand stores. Like you no camera gear. From this limited experience and talking with owners/volunteers they say they rarely see any camera gear now, maybe the odd accessory. They assume the items go up on ebay with a 'known' price. Sadly this is expected, but I'll randomly pop in to others and try and find a boot fair to see what's out there and maybe make that unexpected find ...
10-08-2018, 03:03 AM - 1 Like   #25
Pentaxian
LennyBloke's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Worcestershire, UK
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 675
QuoteOriginally posted by BarryE Quote
So far my hunt has shown up nothing in secondhand stores. Like you no camera gear. From this limited experience and talking with owners/volunteers they say they rarely see any camera gear now, maybe the odd accessory. They assume the items go up on ebay with a 'known' price. Sadly this is expected, but I'll randomly pop in to others and try and find a boot fair to see what's out there and maybe make that unexpected find ...
...this is the optimism that comes with being a Pentaxian Barry Doesn't stop us trying though
10-08-2018, 03:42 AM   #26
Pentaxian
cyberjunkie's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Chiang Mai, Bologna, Amsterdam
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,198
It is still possible to find great bargains on Ebay. Much less than it used to be, unfortunately.
About ten years ago I found on Ebay Italy the second most valuable lens I own.
A second hand shop could not sell locally a Kodak 4x5" monorail camera. The same model that was later sold as Calumet.
It had a nice iris shaped lens holder (a device that clamps non standard shutter-less objectives to the lens board of the camera), a Schneider Symmar 135mm convertible (the last double anastigmat, both cells give a very corrected image, the rear cell alone can be used as a portrait lens), and a nice, huge brass lens that seemed to be badly affected by a leak of some corrosive fluid.
I bought everything for 100 euros, Buy It Now.
The camera went to a young photographer who wanted to start with large format. I sold it for 70, a great deal for him cause the camera was complete of everything and like new.
I still have the lens holder (they go for about 200), and the Symmar (it had a broken shutter and was repaired by a friend, even after a CLA it should fetch not more than 70/100).
The "problematic" old lens was a Cooke Portrait 270mm. I had seen the engravings in the picture and that was the real reason for my acquisition.
A very fortunate one, I'd say... cause the glasses cleaned perfectly, the softness ring was smooth again, and the barrel, after removing the oxidised gunk, just exposed the shiny brass surface underneath. Now the only visible problem is a small part of the barrel that looks shinier and lighter than the rest (covered by the original lacquer).
Some "french lacquer", the same used to restore old furniture, would make the discolouration almost invisible. In the meantime, the brass has oxidised a little, so it's barely visible.
I am glad I bought it, the problem the lens had proved to be minimal, and even with a little discolouration it's very valuable.
It's the Series IIE. The only model of the Cooke Portrait lenses with adjustable soft focus ever made with coated glasses. AFAIK all the others are uncoated.
The value of the lens is secondary, probably I will never sell it. I'm not actively collecting large format lenses anymore, but it's very likely that those I own will stay with me for a long long time
What is more relevant in this little story is its value as a practical example.
With some patience, some knowledge, and some spare time to dedicate to searches (trying to use smart keywords), it was possible, and it's still possible to score very nice deals.
In this case the most valuable element of the bundle was not mentioned in the description, nor in the accompanying text.
Typos, bad or missing descriptions, wrong categories are all possible sources of unexpected strokes of luck.
Doing your home work first, which means knowing what you want to buy and why, is usually a necessary precondition.
Fortunate acquisitions don't usually fall on your lap. It takes some effort.
Better not forget any possible source. I have seen auctions end at higher prices than Buy It Now alternatives, in the same (if not better) conditions.
My most valuable lens, a Voigtlander prototype of an inverted Petzval, was bought from the biggest german photographica shop on Ebay.
They couldn't open it, and it was sold as no-name projection Petzval. I offered 100 euros and they accepted.
It took A LOT of effort to open it, and plenty of gentle hammering, and when I could unscrew the elements, I found inked on the rim of two glasses, the source of the objective:
"Voigtlander & Sohn, Wien und Braunschweig". Which means made by Voigtlander before 1862/63.
The layout, completely different from any other Voigtlander Petzval, reveals that it was a prototype. I asked the authors of two books on Voigtlander history, they never saw another one. It is really a reversed Petzval, and not a wrongly reassembled one, because the threads are different, and there is one, and only one way to assemble the glasses.

So my two most valuable lenses were purchased for 100 euros each
With modern lenses I was less fortunate. Two very expensive Sigma AF zooms were not tested in time (I had it shipped to a friend, and I picked them up months later), and both had bent zoom or/and focusing sleeves. I ended up paying almost as much as buying them new


One last thing.
I already wrote a post about this issue. Maybe it's worth repeating the concept.
Please use some restraint.
Some Ebay vendors are consistently overpricing their cameras/lenses.
If they do, I am sure it's because somebody buys them.
Avoiding overpriced items doesn't just do a big favour to your wallet, it is also affecting the "market".
The price dynamics are affect by (collective) consumer's behaviour.
The whole set of Pentax enthusiasts is not extremely huge. A relatively small number of individuals can impact this kind of dynamics.
Even more so if these individuals are seen as "influencers" by a larger set of people. Some youtubers have a huge number of followers, and those followers actually buy stuff....
Instead of preaching brand loyalty (others do it much better than I could), I prefer to humbly suggest restraint.
Pentaxians don't necessarily have to pay an extra for their choice. I find it very difficult to stomach.
One example: I really want the Voigtlander/Cosina 40mm and 90mm in PKA mount. Though when I look for one I always find prices that IMHO are way too high.
If the same lens sells for as low as 250 USD in Nikon mount, I don't see how a Pentax version should cost 450/500 dollars.
Of course it's less common, but the difference is embarrassing. I mean, I would feel seriously embarrassed if I bought at those prices, even if money was no concern.
Your mileage may vary, even by a whole lot.... just expressing an opinion and suggesting a touch of moderation that would ultimately benefit all of us

Last edited by cyberjunkie; 10-09-2018 at 07:12 AM.
10-08-2018, 04:22 AM   #27
Pentaxian




Join Date: Apr 2011
Photos: Albums
Posts: 8,716
QuoteOriginally posted by Cipher Quote
In recent years the thrift stores have been taking almost anything photographic and putting it on ebay, which is kind of a lose-lose situation in my opinion. The merchandise is often inaccurately described and sells for more than it would from a reputable seller; Goodwill is the worst offender. I have found a few things on Etsy and have had a little luck with garage sales. In estate sales run by an agent the prices are usually high. Some of the smaller thrift stores still have photographic items, generally the ones that are closer to affluent older suburbs are your best bet. How any of this relates to your conditions in the UK is unknown.

Ebay sellers from Japan are generally very good, with accurate descriptions of an item's condition, shipping and import fees might negate any savings.


The import taxes would hurt because they are applied to the price + the postage, also you definitely do not want one of the sellers who inflates the postage to pay for the box and packing and labour to do the packing. When I was on eBay buying lenses I found many US sellers would charge $35 P&P to Australia when the actual postage stamp was about $12 or $15. And in UK the tax you pay is a compound of the VAT (usually 20%, and sales taxes that vary by class of goods, as assessed by the person at the office.
11-09-2018, 12:04 PM   #28
Pentaxian
Wasp's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Pretoria
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,644
I finally got round to visiting the store that I mentioned above. Sadly, it was a bust. There was a sad looking HP 945 for only $300. Five megapixels, that's not a lot for so much money. Sigh...


The guy said that he had also had some antique cameras on a shelfat the back. I like antiques, especially the ones that are spelled T-a-k-u-m-a-r so I had a look. Sadly it was just a bunch of slide and film projectors. Well, they work with film and they have lenses, close enough to being a camera. Sigh...

Keep trying, I guess. There is another shop that I have to check out. It looks dodgy from the street so I haven't bothered yet but you never know.
11-09-2018, 01:11 PM   #29
Veteran Member
Astro-Baby's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Reigate, Surrey
Posts: 764
My KX came out of a charity shop and only yesterday I picked up an absolutely minty fresh Hoya 135 f.2.8 at what I considered a good price (£50) for a mint lens. Doesn't look like its ever been mounted on anything] and certainly it can't have been used much. Still got the original caps and it looks and feels like its brand new.

Some people do overvalue stuff.and mistake old for 'rare' and 'vintage' etc. My other hobby is astronomy and I never even bother looking at eBay for stuff because everyone seems to think that their trash telescope from the 1970s is rare and worth serious money.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
advice, bargain, bargain lens, boot, camera, ebay, gear, idea, japan, k-mount, lens, owner, pentax lens, price, sales, seller, shops, slr lens, store, suggestion
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Can't find the K-70 in any brick & mortar store in Southern California mmbrombe Pentax K-70 & KF 13 10-30-2016 07:43 PM
High end used glass in W. Canada in a bricks & mortar store tranq78 Pentax Price Watch 9 04-01-2013 06:03 PM
Brick and Mortar Store Pentax Bob Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 3 03-27-2010 10:49 AM
K-7 cheaper at brick and mortar stores? SteveM Pentax News and Rumors 20 06-18-2009 11:11 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:24 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top